Anyone else who gets wired when doing extended fasting?

extendedfast
wired
restless
(Jessika Nilsson) #1

I finished my first extended fast today (41h) and I probably could have gone longer, but I had a meeting scheduled and I didn’t want to get too hungry during the meeting and not be able to focus. My longest fast previously have been 25 hours.
I had issues falling asleep as I was so wired and then I woke up after approx 5 hours and it took a long time to fall sleep again properly. And I kind of never have issues falling asleep (even when I sometimes wake up occasionaly during the middle of the night).

Does anyone else get wired when they’re fasting for longer then 24 hours or is just me who needs to strenghten my fasting muscle more?

Otherwise I felt really well during the fast, although I might have more energy now after I’ve eaten :wink: My BS went the lowest I’ve ever seen, 3,1 mmol/L (55,8mg/dl), but I kept feeling fine :open_mouth: How low is it OK to go, or I guess it’s fine as long as I feel fine? (And my blood ketones are usually up around 1,8, and I keep blowing yellow and even sometimes the low range of red on the ketonix)

I drank lots of water, supplemented with salt and enjoyed green tea and rooibos.

(Scott Telfer) #2

I find it can produce a certain narcotic style buzz/euphoria which I can’t say I always find unpleasant

(Dustin Cade) #3

I’m coming near the end of a 72 hour fast, I find my self more active during fasted times, maybe if i’m keeping busy I’m not thinking about food… but this weekend I did a lot of cooking… I think I feel better when i’m fasted than when I’m feasting… this may be because when I’m feasting i may go a bit overboard, though this is only my 3rd fast longer than 24 hours… so I am hoping that the feasting becomes less…

(Jessika Nilsson) #4

Yeah, that could be one word for the feeling I had, I did feel fine but also slightly weird, so some kind of ‘buzz’ . I guess we’ll see how I’ll feel when I try for an extended fast the next time :joy:

(Jessika Nilsson) #5

I generally feel slightly more focused when I fast, but it seems I have a limit of it though. But maybe I can increase that limit with practice and not get slightly jittery as I did today …

(Dustin Cade) #6

I allow myself iced coffee with a touch of heavy cream, I’ll also have BPC with salt (this is not the normal amount of fat that I’ll put in my BPC on non fasting days)… there are various opinions if that is true fasting… this works for me, not sure if i’m getting the full benefits with autophagy but it’s a start…

#7

Dem catecholamines!

(Jessika Nilsson) #8

Please elaborate on catecholamines correlates to fasting? Is it the what gives (or contributes to) the ‘buzzed’ feeling?

#9

Catecholamines are hormones like adrenaline, norepinephrine, and dopamine, and their levels go up during fasting periods, and this can make you feel jacked up.

(Jessika Nilsson) #10

Ah, that explains it. Do you know whether the levels of catecholamines stay the same during extend fasting or if they will lower as the body get more used to fasting for longer periods of time?

(Jarod King) #11

I’ve done 3x 5-Day fasts and 2x 7-Day fasts now, and from my experience the epinephrine spikes (the effect you’re describing) get worse as you go along. I’ve been told that you will get used to it over time, but I haven’t yet. I get about 80% of my normal sleep requirements while fasting due to this effect…and I like me sleep :frowning: Having said that, I think the overall health benefits are worth it.

If you’re not already aware, your body needs both epinephrine and glucagon to release the fat from your fat stores…so theoretically the amplitude of the epinephrine spikes should max out once you are pulling 100% of your caloric needs from fat.

I’ll test this theory in January’19. I’m planning on starting my first 30-Day fast right after all the New Years celebrations end.

(Jessika Nilsson) #12

I had almost forgotten about this :see_no_evil:
Since I asked this question I’ve trained my fasting muscle and I no longer feel as wired. I guess my body probably got more used to fasting, either by not getting as stressed by it or me just getting more resistant to the effects of the catecholamines…
Anyone who might know the cause?

I still feel more focused on fasting days, but not at all wired or jittery :slight_smile: Now I can fast for 72 hours straight, and mostly break my fast because I get slightly bored and start to miss food :sweat_smile:

But I do limit my extended fasts to only once in a while, as I believe that too intensive fasting when I’m close to my ‘goal weight’ and also strengthtrain a lot can be, at least for me, detrimental…

(Jarod King) #13

Here’s a thought I had earlier today…if the increased epinephrine that occurs over time during a fast is due to the fact that it is needed In conjunction with glucagon to release fat from your cells, could drinking bone-broth before bed help alleviate issues with falling asleep? This (theoretically) might supply your body with an initial burst of dietary fat, that would allow a decrease of epenephrine just before bed…and allow me to sleep. I think I’ll try this in about a month or so, during my next 7-Day water fast. If anyone wants to try it before then, or has experience with this already, I’d love to hear the results.

(Doug) #14

It’s quite variable, unpredictable and hit-or-miss for me. I still feel sluggish sometimes, when fasting, although a given day may be just fine. Once in a while I’ll get some feeling of “euphoria,” or extra-energy. No rhyme or reason to it that I can figure out. Have never had trouble sleeping, over ~20 fasts of 3 or more days.

I’m sure I still have so much fat to lose - 100lbs/45kg - that I’ve never even come close to thinking I went too long; longest fast for me is 10 days. Even with all the ups and downs, there is always a massive mental effect of “I’m doing something good here,” at work in the background.